A New Dawn
This is a book written by Ambershine223. There are loads of books before this, but I like this one best. Chapter one A handsome grey tom hesitated. Every silver stripe on his muscular body rippled with tension. A rabbit was right in front of him. Silently, Dovecloud sank to the ground, and crept forward slowly. Swift as an adder, he shot along the ground with paws outstretched, and grasped the massive rabbit in his jaws. Warm blood seeped through the hole Dovecloud had made in the fresh kill, turning his powerful paws red. "We'll have to rename you Bloodfoot, or, I guess you can go back to the apprentices den. I name you Bloodpaw!" A teasing voice came from near him. He swung round, glancing at all the bushes and ferns that surrounded the hollow he was in, unable to detect the owner of the sweet voice. But before he could tip his head back to gaze at the greenleaf trees, a heavy weight crashed onto him. He squirmed and twisted, but couldn't break free of the attacker. Dovecloud froze, then rolled onto his back. His opponent didn't waste a second. She hopped neatly out of the way to avoid being crushed, and then leaped onto his belly and scratched gently. Dovecloud looked into the she-cats eyes. They weren't fiery emerald like cats fighting with their lives, just sparkling like the fresh greenleaf sun. " Ambershine! You scared me half to death! I thought you were an enemy warrior!" "I'll give a bit of advice, Mousebrain. You have a nose for a reason. Use it!" "You didn't give me a chance. You were on me, below me, this way, that way, I was so confused!" confessed Dovecloud. "That's what makes me the best fighter." Ambershine sat down in front of a tree stump." Unless you can prove me wrong." With a yowl Dovecloud flung himself at the pretty she-cat. Ambershine merely walked away and began to wash herself, while Dovecloud charged full pelt into the stump. " Proved me wrong yet, Birdbrain. Attacking a defenseless she-cat. Where are your manners?" " I'm the one who's defenceless. My head hurts now. It hurts!" "You're the first cat I know to surrender to a tree stump. Wait till the clan hears this!" Ambershine snorted. " Talking of the clan, it's Sunhigh, we should be back at camp." " I'll get my squirrels," Ambershine meowed. She trotted away and returned with two squirrels, each almost as big as the rabbit. They padded back to camp, staggering slightly under the weight of the prey. " Great Starclan, they're huge!" exclaimed Lizardheart. They had just reached camp and the small grey tabby was wide eyed at the sight of Ambershine. Ambershine narrowed her eyes in pleasure. This meant more than just prey. It meant Ambershine was winning back the trust of her clanmates. " Thanks Lizardheart, would you like to share a piece of prey with me. I don't mind." "Sure, if you can spare the time." Dovecloud blinked in astonishment. Lizardheart had been one of Blackhearts followers, and had yowled the loudest to prevent Ambershine coming back to the clan. Flicking his tail in greeting, he hauled the rabbit over to the elders den. "... So I turned around to face the fox. It was bigger than a badger, with fangs twice the size of mine." Tinyear was telling the oldest apprentice, Goldenpaw. "What did you do!" gasped the ginger tabby. " I showed my teeth, and dived for its muzzle and ears, as they bleed the most. The creature was so surprised, it fell backwards, and I pelted for home like the whole of Windclan were behind me... Hello Dovecloud, is that for me? I was wondering why you standing there with a rabbit in your jaws. Great Starclan, that'll feed me for sunrises." " I hope you'll share that!" rasped Noeyes in the shadows. Dovecloud and Goldenpaw glanced at each other and twitched their whiskers. Dipping his head, he backed out of the den, closely followed by Goldenpaw. "I didn't want to hear them bicker!" she explained. "What should I do now? I don't need to hunt as there is enough for each cat to have two pieces each, and I've completed my final assessments." She swelled up with pride."I'll be a warrior by nightfall!" "Congratulations!" As Goldenpaw padded off, Dovecloud turned away and headed towards the warriors den. He curled up in his nest, and let sleep take over him. Dovecloud gazed up at Scorchstar. The ginger tom had announced a meeting, and cats had tails high and happy expressions, but no cat was more happy than Goldenpaw. " It is with great pleasure that I can make a new warrior. Goldenpaw, step forward." Goldenpaw walked trembling up to the boulder where Scorchstar held clan meetings. "I, Scorchstar, leader of Thunderclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Goldenpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" "I do." whispered Goldenpaw. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Goldenpaw, from this moment you will be known as Goldenstripe. StarClan honours your kindness and love of peace, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Thunderclan." Scorchstar leaped down and rested his muzzle upon her head. Goldenstripe licked it respectively in return. " Goldenstripe! Goldenstripe!" "Wait! Before you all go, there is one more ceremony to perform. One of our kits has reached the age of six moons. Hazelkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Hazelpaw. Your mentor will be Ambershine ." Chapter 2 Shocked gasps ran out through the clearing. Lizardstripe lashed her tail and Darkfrost was on his paws yowling a challenge to the leader. “She can't be trusted! Ambershine was a rogue two moons ago!” Scorchstar held his burning gaze steadily. “Ambershine should never of been exiled!” he hissed in anger. “ Blackheart was the culprit, and we all know Ambershine helped us when she was a rogue, and you shouldn't forget that.” Darkfrost sat down, his head hanging in shame. Dovecloud's fur lifted in annoyance. How dare the young warrior accuse Ambershine of disloyalty, especially when Ambershine had saved his life those moons ago. You would be dead now if it wasn't for Ambershine delivering catmint in secret. You were resting on the border of Starclan, ill to the tip of your tail with deadly greencough. Scorchstar cleared his throat and growled, “Why not let Hazelpaw have a say in this. After all, she is the one being apprenticed here.” “It'll be GREAT!” blurted out Hazelpaw. “She is the best hunter and fighter in the clan, and I will learn loads from her. And I do trust her, because she is always fighting the hardest and bringing back the most prey. The only problem is, is that Ambershine is my mother's sister, and I don't want her to be soft on me.” “Don't worry, I won't. I'll bring you up to be a warrior the clan is proud of. In fact, tomorrow the first thing I'll teach you is how to change to change the elder's bedding!” Amused murmurs shot through the crowd of gathered cats. Dovecloud saw Tuftyear's dull eyes light up. “Make it soft!” he rasped. Scorchstar twitched his ears. “So let's finish this ceremony. I hope Ambershine will pass down all she knows on to you. Ambershine,you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from me, and you have shown yourself to be loyal and brave. You will be the mentor of Hazelpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her.” “You can count on me, Scorchstar,” Ambershine vowed solemnly. She padded over to the white and dark brown apprentice and touched noses with hers. Dovecloud waited for the traditional greeting all new warriors and apprentices should have. Silence filled his ears. Hazelpaw whipped her head around, and flattened her ears. Her tail drooped and she whimpered sadly. Dovecloud, after seeing the apprentice at what was supposed to be one of the happiest moments of her life, didn't waste a second. “Hazelpaw! Hazelpaw!” Stripefur and Snowclaw, Hazelpaw's parents joined in, and Ambershine, Scorchstar and a few others. But others, Dovecloud noticed, slunk away and didn't speak at all. * “And this is the border with Shadowclan. Please remember how their scent smells. I don't want to explain to Sharpberry why a certain foolish apprentice mistook a medicine cat from a fox.” “How would I know if it was a medicine cat?” “They smell of herbs,” Ambershine replied. Dovecloud, Ambershine and Hazelpaw were patrolling the borders, and Ambershine was taking the role of a mentor very seriously. Poor Hazelpaw was looking like she should of never mentioned that she wanted Ambershine to be her mentor, while Dovecloud himself felt bored to the bone. “Look, Ambershine,” he began carefully. “I think we should head back to camp. We've patrolled this border twice already, and Hazelpaw looks like she'll fall asleep if she walks another mouse-length.” Ambershine paused, then mumbled, “Yes, I guess you are right. Let's go.” Dovecloud sighed. Ambershine hated not being right, and now it looked like she would never talk to him again. A pain-filled yowl broke into his thoughts. He swung round, and spotted Hazelpaw hopping around on three paws, shrieking. “ I trod on a thorn, I trod on a thorn!” she cried. “Then we will have to get back to camp to let Spotteddapple have a look at it then.” Ambershine inspected the paw, and then winced. “Change of plan, Dovecloud, get Spotteddapple.” “Why?” “Just do it!” she snapped. Dovecloud pelted to camp, his heart racing. It was just a thorn, right? He shot passed a couple of shocked elders, and skidded through the gorse tunnel that separated the medicine cat clearing from the camp. Spotteddapple was calmly sorting a pile of dandelions. She pricked her ears then leaped away from the leaves. “Take me to Hazelpaw, then,” she growled. Dovecloud gaped at her. “If Starclan is right, Hazelpaw's life rests in our paws,” Spotteddapple told him grimly. More coming soon...